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Corinthians, Marseille both rule out move for free agent Didier Drogba

Corinthians and Marseille have both ruled out a move to sign Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.

Drogba, 38, has been a free agent since leaving Montreal Impact in November and has been linked with moves to both Brazil and France but neither club will be moving for the former Ivory Coast international.

Corinthians director of football Flavio Audato told Estado: "We will not be bringing in Drogba. The front office is not involved in this story, and with all due respect, would not approve this measure and the case would never move forward.

"It is sad for the fans. It only frustrates them and shows lack of respect.

"We discussed him a while back. We were asked by them [marketing department] what we thought of Drogba. We talked about how good he was and that was it. No one was enthusiastic about him.

"In name, of course, he is strong but there is no negotiation going on with those who make decisions about football here."

Meanwhile, a return to Marseille, the club from which he joined Chelsea in 2004, also appears unlikely following comments from coach Rudi Garcia.

"It's true that he was a fantastic player here," Garcia said. "But I think that sometimes you have to just leave the great experiences as they are."

Information from La Liga correspondent Adriana Garcia and Ligue 1 correspondent Ian Holyman was used in this report.

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